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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
Phalange Party
Formed in 1936 as a Maronite paramilitary youth organization by
Pierre Jumayyil (who modeled it on the fascist organizations he had
observed while in Berlin as an Olympic athlete), the Phalange, or
Phalanxes (Kataib in Arabic), was authoritarian and very
centralized, and its leader was all powerful. It quickly grew into
a major political force in Mount Lebanon. After at first allying
itself with the French Mandate authorities, the Phalange sided with
those calling for independence; as a result, the party was
dissolved in 1942 by the French high commissioner (it was restored
after The French left Lebanon). Despite this early dispute, over
the years the Phalange has been closely associated with France in
particular and the West in general. In fact, for many years the
party newspaper, Al Amal, was printed in Arabic and French.
Consistent with its authoritarian beginnings, Phalangist
ideology has been on the right of the political spectrum. Although
it has embraced the need to "modernize," it has always favored the
preservation of the sectarian status quo. The Phalange Party motto
is "God, the Fatherland, and the Family," and its doctrine
emphasizes a free economy and private initiative. Phalangist
ideology focuses on the primacy of preserving the Lebanese nation,
but with a "Phoenician" identity, distinct from its Arab, Muslim
neighbors. Party policies have been uniformly anticommunist and
anti-Palestinian and have allowed no place for pan-Arab ideals.
Unlike many zuama who achieved their status by virtue of
inheriting wealth, Jumayyil ascended because of his ability to
instill discipline in his organization and, by the mid-1950s,
through the accumulation of military might. By the outbreak of the
1958 Civil War, the Phalange Party was able to further its growing
power by means of its militia. In that year, when President Shamun
was unable to convince the army commander, Fuad Shihab, to use the
armed forces against Muslim demonstrators, the Phalange militia
came to his aid
(see The 1958 Civil War
, ch. 5). Encouraged by its
efforts during this conflict, later that year, principally through
violence and the success of general strikes in Beirut, the Phalange
achieved what journalists dubbed the "counterrevolution." By their
actions the Phalangists brought down the government of Prime
Minister Karami and secured for their leader, Jumayyil, a position
in the four-man cabinet that was subsequently formed.
The 1958 Civil War was a turning point for the Phalange Party.
Whereas in 1936, the year of its formation, it had a following of
around 300, by 1958 its membership had swelled to almost 40,000.
Meanwhile, the French newspaper L'Orient estimated that the
Phalange Party's nearest rival, the Syrian Socialist Nationalist
Party, had a membership of only 25,000
(see Multisectarian Parties
, this ch.). In addition, although until 1958 it had been able to
elect only 31 percent of its candidates to the Chamber of Deputies,
from 1959 through 1968 the Phalange placed 61 percent of its
candidates in office. Moreover, by the start of the disturbances in
1975, the party's rolls may have included as many as 65,000
members, including a militia approaching 10,000 men.
Throughout the 1975 Civil War, the Phalange Party was the most
formidable force within the Christian camp, and its militia
shouldered the brunt of the fighting. As part of the Lebanese
Front, the mostly Christian, rightist coalition, the power of the
Jumayyil family increased considerably
(see Appendix B).
Ironically, as Pierre Jumayyil's son, Bashir, ascended as a
national figure, the role of the Phalange Party diminished
(see The Ascendancy of Bashir Jumayyil
, ch. 5). This was true primarily
because the relevance of political entities declined as the
importance of armed power grew. Through a series of violent
intrasectarian battles, Bashir seized control of the Lebanese
Forces (not to be confused with the Lebanese Front), a
conglomeration of the Phalange Party's military wing and some other
Christian militias.
During the 1980s, the Phalange lost much of its credibility and
political stature. In 1982, under pressure from Israel, which
occupied a good deal of Lebanon, Bashir was elected president.
Later that year, before talking office, Bashir was assassinated.
Subsequently, his brother Amin was elected president, again not so
much for his Phalange Party connection as because of his support
from Israel. With the death of Pierre Jumayyil in 1984, the role of
the party declined further. When the deputy leader of the party,
Elie Karamah, a Greek Catholic, was named as its new head, many
Maronite members became disaffected. Maronite George Saadah
succeeded Karamah in 1987 and strove to resuscitate the flagging
Phalange by holding party meetings and by improving ties to the
Lebanese Forces. The party, however, was factionalized, and many
prominent members had left.
Data as of December 1987
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